Boedga INV No B-73235-Puerto Ancona S.A.-Tikal-Patriota-Malbcec-Bonarda-Mendoza-Argentina-2012-13.8% Alcohol-$15.99-A nose of dark fruits and spices, dark black purple in color. A full bodied red blend, with blackberry, plum, chocolate and spices on long finish. A big wine, a good value. RP-89 WS-91 (WS #45 Top 2014) CR-89 Good with meats, chicken, pasta.

Cornerstone Cellars-Pinot Noir-Willamette Valley-Yamhill-Oregon-2013-13.5% Alcohol-$24.00-A nose of some black cherry and some spice, medium garnet in color. A medium to full bodied red, with black cherry, plum, some cola and spice on finish, nothing special. WS-90 CR-86 Good with seafood, cheeses, salads.

Lenne-Pinot Noir-Yamhill Carlton-Oregon-2011-13.5% Alcohol-$31.99-A nose of black cherry and spices, medium garnet in color. A medium to full bodied red, with black cherry, berry, tea and spices on finish, very good. RP-89 WS-90 CR-90 Good with seafood, cheeses, salads. One Cork Bonus.

Cantine Cavalierino SI-852-Chiccheio-Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot-Montepulciano-Toscana-Italy-2010-13.5% Alcohol-$27.99-A nose of dark fruit and some spice, dark garnet in color. A medium to full bodied red blend, with black cherry, plum, licorice and spices on finish, a good blend. WS-90 CR-89 Good with meats, chicken, pasta.

Sokol Blosser Becomes B Corp Certified

Wow. We are so thrilled to share our news with you today. Sokol Blosser Winery is now B Corp Certified.

With every vintage, our goal is to produce the highest quality and best wine that reflects that year’s growing season and our hillside vineyard location. We also want to do it as sustainably as possible so that our wines and business practices are healthy for future generations, employees, the community, and our customers. We practice it in our everyday business and operations — from certified organic farming to sustainable packaging to employee relations and much more. We measure our business success through the triple bottom line — how we impact people, planet and profit. We believe this will sustain our company long term and build a better future for the world.

Why did we set out to be Certified B Corp? We believe in third party certification to support and standardize sustainable efforts. We achieved our first environmental certification in 1996 through our farming practices. Our Underground Barrel Cellar was built as the first LEED-certified winery facility in the US in 2002. And, our vineyard and winery became certified organic by the Oregon Department of Agriculture in 2005.

For B Corp, we underwent a rigorous evalution to measure the social and environmental impact of our business. We’re proud to say that we met the high standards and can call ourselves a B Corp alongside recognizable friends such as New Belgium Brewing Co, Hopworks Urban Brewery, Veev Spirits, New Seasons Market, Patagonia, Honest Company, Seventh Generation and Ben and Jerry’s.

Learn more about what B Corp is here. Check out our press release here and our recently released 2014 Sustainability Report here.

The Nose and the Flashlight

First Edition

Coming to you from Winemaker Alex Sokol Blosser, each quarter look for an edition of "The Nose and the Flashlight," a continuous discussion to smell and shed light on all things winemaking. Cheers to our first edition as we kick off this fun series and share the story behind winemaking!

Flashlight: “I keep telling you, Nose, that I am the most important tool the winemaker has!”

The Nose: “Nonsense! A LED Flashlight like yourself is just a mere tool, while I, the Nose, am the true device of the vigneron!”

Flashlight: “I grant you that smelling is a key part of winemaking, but if you cannot properly see things in the darkness of the barrel room or the cellar then what kind of quality control can you possibly achieve?”

The Nose: “You don’t need to see the build-up of acidic acid (vinegar) in your drain! You smell it!”

Flashlight: “Fair enough, but how about when you are checking your closed top fermenters and you open the top of the tank and all you can see is darkness?”

The Nose: “But you can smell what is in the tank!”

Flashlight: “What if you need to make a tank measurement?!?”

The Nose: “Then maybe you would come in handy….”

Flashlight: “Yes, I the flashlight am the Ed to Johnny, the Fred to Ginger.”

The Nose: “The light at the end of my nose?”

Flashlight: "I think you are smelling what I am shedding some light on."

Fiancetto Wine Co.-Franciscan Loam-Cabernet Sauvignon-Spring Mountain District-Napa Valley-2009-14.5% Alcohol-$29.00-A nose of dark fruit and some spice, dark garnet in color. A medium to full bodied Cab, with blackberry, currants, some cocoa and spice on finish, good not great. NR CR-88 Good with meats, chicken, pasta.

Purple Hands Wine-Pinot Noir-Stoller Vineyard-Dundee Hills-Oregon-2012-12.5% Alcohol-$24.98-A nose of cherry and some spice, medium garnet in color. A medium to full bodied single vineyard Pinot, with black cherry, currant, dusty, cola and spice on finish. A good value, still young. WS-93 WE-89 CR-89 Good with seafood, cheeses, salads.

Sokol Blosser Harvest 2014 in Full Swing

Harvest 2014 is here!

Our 2014 growing season was filled with hot and dry weather, and we anticipate that to continue as we begin picking our estate Pinot Noir today.

Harvesting for Sparkling Wine

Last week, we started harvest early to pick a portion of our estate Muller-Thurgau intended for our Evolution Sparkling. Picking these grapes early helps with acid retention and lower sugar levels, resulting in lower alcohol content which is best for sparkling wines. The rest of our Muller-Thurgau will be picked at a later time for Evolution White.

Picking Pinot Noir Started Today

Today is the first day we are picking our estate Pinot Noir, including Goosepen, Orchard and Peach Tree blocks. We’ll continue picking throughout the rest of the week and antipate we’ll have two-thirds of our fruit in by the end of next week. As you would expect, the recent heat wave hitting Willamette Valley has accelerated the fruit ripening leading to early harvest for most producers. For us, our fruit is looking clean with a healthy and heavy crop.

Normally, our estate Pinot Gris ripens after our Pinot Noir. This is not typical for many Oregon vineyards but has remained fairly consistent for us. However, this year after sampling our grapes these last few days, we anticipate bringing in our Pinot Gris as we pick our Pinot Noir.

Harvest 2014 Preparations

In the past few weeks, we have spent much time preparing for this year’s harvest.

In fact, Co-President/Winemaker Alex Sokol Blosser accepted the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, and in addition to donating, used the challenge as a perfect opportunity to ‘test’ our equipment. Check out Alex get soaked by a giant ice bucket, a.k.a. fermenting tank, here.

Co-President/CEO Alison Sokol Blosser also got challenged and gave our staff the opportunity to ‘dunk the boss’. Click here to see the video.

After a long wait, we finally were able to release three barn owls in our vineyard. Watch the barn owl release video here.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @sokolblosser to see updates on our harvest this year.

We are also thrilled that our winery-only wines got great scores as well! All of our 2010 single block pinot noirs received scores of 90 or more, in addition to our 2012 Dundee Hills Chardonnay, which received an outstanding 94 points.

We’ve been rooted in the Dundee Hills and making wine for more than 40 years. The newest addition to our estate – our new Tasting Room designed by internationally-recognized Allied Works Architecture – turns one this summer.

Come join us to celebrate the anniversary this summer! If you have upcoming travel in Oregon, please include us in your itinerary. You will have the opportunity to experience the new Tasting Room, enjoy our vineyard and estate, and take in views of Oregon’s famous Dundee Hills and the Willamette Valley.

Acid, complexity and fruit come together in a special way for Pinot Noir here in the Willamette Valley. When the growing season coorperates, this trifecta of flavor inspires the Pinot Noir drinkers of the world.

- Alex Sokol Blosser, Winemaker

It brings us joy to share that Alex Sokol Blosser has taken the reins as winemaker here at Sokol Blosser Winery, one of Oregon’s oldest yet most innovative wineries. Alex will carry on our family vision to produce world-class wines combining quality, craft and appreciation for the land – across both Sokol Blosser and Evolution wines. He takes over the leadership role from Russ Rosner, who retired after 15 successful vintages with us.

For those who have had the opportunity to meet Alex, he comes with many years of experience in the wine industry – managing the vineyard since 2006, working at neighboring vineyards, gaining experience at a wine wholesaler and even spearheading a project to develop six new American Viticultural Areas in the northern Willamette Valley.

Together as co-presidents and siblings in the second generation, Alex and Alison are committed to producing high-quality wine with a sense of place and delivering a personalized hospitality experience with the new tasting room on our estate. More details on this news is here.

We welcome you to visit us throughout the year in our new Tasting Room on our vineyard. If you are interested in visiting, please reach out and we’d be happy to arrange. Cheers!